Former Peabody Ice Rink Owner, Grand Prix CFO Faces Fraud Charges

PEABODY, MA — A former Peabody ice rink owner, who was also the chief financial officer of the Boston Grand Prix, was indicted in federal court on Tuesday on charges that he did not report nearly $1 million of income from the race that never took place on his taxes and failed to repay nearly $1 million in loans he received under false pretenses for the rink.

John Casey, 56, of Ipswich, was indicted on eight counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated theft, three counts of money laundering and three counts of filing false tax returns.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Casey was arrested Tuesday morning and was to be in federal court Tuesday afternoon.

Casey is accused of failing to report payments of $308,292 in 2015 and $601,073 from the Boston Grand Prix organization on his taxes for those years. The Boston Grand Prix was advertised as an Indy Car-style race through the Boston's Seaport in 2016, but was ultimately canceled after securing investors and ticket purchases.

Casey is also accused of obtaining $743,000 in equipment funding for the ice rink he owned in Peabody from 2013 to 2016, as well as $145,000 in small business loans for the rink more than two months after he sold it, using false documents.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Casey provided fake invoices for the equipment, false bank records showing deposits into his accounts related to the rink, falsely inflated personal and corporate tax returns and provided fraudulent financial statements claiming ownership and the value of assets related to the rink.

He is accused of providing a fake sales document containing a forged signature in support of one of his loan applications. The U.S. Attorney's Office said the false documents allowed Casey to take out loans he did not qualify for, and that most of the companies involved with the rink fraud were never paid.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said he laundered money gained from the fraud scheme and did not report the income on his 2014, 2015 and 2016 personal federal tax returns.

Casey faces up to 35 years in prison and $1 million in fines if found guilty of all charges.

Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

(The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.)